


You Call It Crime, We Call It Smart Family Business

by Queerbutstillhere



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Justice League of America (Comics), Superman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Mafia/Mob, Batfam Week, Bruce Wayne is a godfather, Clark Kent is Superman, Conner Kent is supernova, F/M, Famous Wayne Family, Gen, Gen Work, Here you go my darling baby sibling, I Don't Even Know, I wrote this in like three days, Jon Kent is Superboy, Kyle Rayner green lantern, M/M, Mentioned Ships - Freeform, The Waynes are kinda creepy in this tbh, Wayne Family, Wayne Family Mafia, and sent it to my beta without even attempting to edit it myself, batfam, i hope ya like it kiddo, mentions of bombs, mentions of drugs violence and weapons, mentions of sickness, this is for dysfunctionalbatfam, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerbutstillhere/pseuds/Queerbutstillhere
Summary: The Wayne Family had been in control of Gotham for over thirteen years.They had long since made it clear that the Justice League was not allowed in their city, and that they could take defensive measures, if necessary.And the Justice League believed them.So why the heck was Clark Kent meeting with Bruce Wayne?
Relationships: Bart Allen/Conner Kent (mentioned), Bruce Wayne/Talia al Ghul (mentioned), Clark Kent & Jonathan Samuel Kent & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Comments: 35
Kudos: 253





	You Call It Crime, We Call It Smart Family Business

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dysfunctionalbatfam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dysfunctionalbatfam/gifts).



> To the darling bean who was unaware that this prompt was FOR him at first, I absolutely adore you kiddo, and I hope this fic lives up to your standards!
> 
> Huge thanks to binarystarkillers for beta-ing this for me and making sense of the disaster I gave her, lmao!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this wonderful Mafia AU that I had so much fun with :)

Gotham was a dangerous place.

She always had been.

Crime had gone through its ups and downs, some days being at all times high, others being so tightly controlled that it seemed like a utopia. It had gone through different phases of being ruled: ruled by politics, ruled by the people, ruled by the police, ruled by gangs, to get it to where it was now.

Ruled by the Wayne Family.

Everyone knew their names.

Or at least, everyone on the east coast did, and everyone involved with any type of crime fighting did.

They had been openly ruling Gotham for nearly thirteen years by the _Gotham Gazette's_ count. And no one knows how long they had been doing things behind the scenes. No one knew how long the Wayne family had been inside the mafia, no one knew how long they had ruled from the shadows.

It was well known all along the eastern seaboard, you avoided Gotham unless you had a death wish. Yes, the Waynes had a tight grip around crime, but there were still those who slipped by. Muggings and murders were frequent occurrences, as were store robberies and break-ins. Only desperate people found themselves moving to Gotham, and the only reason people were still inhabiting it was either they were too broke to get out, or they were tied down with blackmail.

Or they had their fingers in the Mafia Pie.

There were many members to the Wayne Family, as the media had learned over the years. 

The supposed head, the godfather, was Bruce Wayne, a child billionaire whose parents had been killed in a street mugging when he was eight. Now, well over thirty years later, he was not only rugged and handsome, but one of the most clever men in Gotham, specifically skilled in deductive reasoning and engineering.

Then followed his eldest ward, Richard Grayson. Dick, an ex-circus performer, was now one of his father's most trusted advisors, and the assumed underboss. He was also highly skilled, but often put on an airheaded front for cameras and media. But if you were left alone in a room with him, you would quickly find out why he was the underboss. He too had lost his family, killed when he was a child in a supposed accident that actually turned out to be an ordered hit by a rival mob to the Wayne Family.

Jason Todd, the wild card of the family, was second eldest. He was generally supposed to be a capo, or a captain, ordering people around, but still reporting to Bruce and Dick. He earned his title as a wild card because he had, on many occasions, just dropped completely off the grid and come back months or even years later. And yet, every time he was accepted back into the family like nothing had happened.

Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain were very close in age, and often confused for twins. The consiglieres worked together as their father’s advisors, but stayed out of the general dirty work of the family business; Cassandra was attending a fancy ballet school, while Tim was still in high school.

Lastly, as far as the media was aware, was Damian Wayne. The blood son. The thirteen year old had little to no direct involvement with his family's business, but he definitely knew what was going on, and what he would be inheriting later in life. No one quite knew his story, just that suddenly, a few years prior, he had entered the picture, and that he was a very angry, tiny child, even at thirteen. He was homeschooled and didn't seem to be much interested in friends. Or anything any thirteen year old should be interested in.

For the most part, the Wayne Family didn't seem that bad, other than the obvious Mafia portion. They controlled gun and weaponry sales in Gotham, they controlled what drugs were being shipped in and out, they controlled a large percentage of the alcohol sales, they controlled crime and dealt heavily with people who broke their "laws". But they also controlled the police. 

The Gotham police has been corrupt for decades before the Wayne Family, and while all police are corrupt, these were corrupt in the sense that they were hand fed by whatever gang or mob were on top in the city that year. They were backstabbers, switching from one gang loyalty to another, and any "good" cops got dragged in by blackmail or death threats soon enough. But with the Wayne Family keeping them tightly leashed like a vicious dog, they were nothing more than the Mafia soldiers. Any cop who came in with the intention to try to go against the Wayne Family would find themselves conforming or jobless.

And while it seems, so far, like the Wayne Family is not that bad, it does seem important to remind the reader that the Wayne Family heavily encourages the sale and use of illegal narcotics, everything from coke and heroine to weed and acid. They torture and kill people as punishment for infractions. They seize property and resources, and physically threaten anyone who tries anything. There were a few things they refuse to sell, mainly the newer, more deadly and dangerous drugs that had been recently introduced into the drug rings, and they dealt harshly with anyone who left Gotham to buy them and sell them inside the city limits.

Yes, Gotham was a dangerous place, ruled by a dangerous family. You had to be insane to go inside.

Which is why Clark Kent could not believe he was there.

To be fair, Clark Kent was not. Superman was there. He was there solely to talk to Bruce Wayne, and he knew without a doubt even he was not safe. Bruce Wayne had not hesitated to make it clear that he was in possession of the one thing that could kill Superman. He had made it clear he knew how to disable every member of the Justice League of America. And he had made it _explicitly_ clear that they were to stay _far away_ from Gotham if they valued their and their loved ones lives.

The Justice League were not cowards. But they were not dumb, either. They kept a painfully close eye on Gotham, waiting for a crack in Bruce Wayne's defenses, but it never came. So they monitored the city, but never interfered. Even when Clark felt nearly sick because of things he had heard or seen happening in that city. He never interfered. Not even when he and Diana had almost cried together because of something that had happened and made it into the news.

So why, you may ask, was he going to Gotham now, after twelve years of not touching the city? He'd only ever been in a few times, and even then it was a quick in and out, or a prearranged meeting with someone from the Mafia for some reason or another. Usually it was to hand over some supervillain or meta that the Wayne's, surprisingly, couldn't or didn't want to deal with.

Today he was accompanied by Green Lantern - the Kyle Rayner one - and Supernova, previously known as Superboy. He hadn't been very eager about Conner coming with him, but the teen had insisted and he had been outvoted by the league. They had sent Kyle since he was very experienced as a diplomat, and wasn't susceptible to Kryptonite.

They had been watching Gotham approaching for the past ten minutes, with it's dark clouds and air thick with smog. It hurt to breathe in, and Clark honestly didn't mind not being allowed to go there. He hated the whole damn city.

They landed on top of this observation balcony on this huge tower, with ugly gargoyles. The building itself wasn't very attractive, but the gargoyles were even more hideous. They landed, the wind whipping around them, tugging Clark's cape around, and Conner turned to him.

"I hate this city," he grumbled, and Clark could tell he already regretted his decision.

They weren't terribly close, despite being father and son, but they had a better relationship then they used to. They at least respected and cared for each other now. Conner didn't live with Clark and his little family, as he often flipped between living in Hawaii and living in Missouri with his boyfriend, but he generally came by on weekends. Jon loved him and definitely looked up to him like a big brother. He had been over the moon when Kon had decided to pass down the Superboy name.

"It's disgusting," Kyle agreed, leaning over the observation deck edge and looking down towards the ground.

"Why the hell would anyone pick _this_ shithole?"

"Supernova," Clark corrected gently. Not because of his language, Clark had given up on that a long time ago, but because he didn't know who was listening to them right now.

"Let's go inside, maybe the air will be cleaner there," Conner suggested, turning to the double glass doors leading inside to what looked like a dining room.

"No, we don't want to do anything to piss Wayne off," Kyle said, shaking his head. "We were told to meet him here, we'll wait here."

"Oh come on, Kyle, you don't actually believe that Wayne himself will be coming?"

Kyle just arched an eyebrow.

All three jumped as the door suddenly swung open. Conner and Clark exchanged a look. How did they not notice anyone walking up? They both had super hearing and Conner had been facing the door up until he looked away to talk to Kyle.

The door swung in towards the person on the other side, and it took Clark's supervision to be able to make him out. He was tall and muscular, wearing dark pants and a leather jacket over a black t-shirt. Clark could easily make out his weapons, double hand guns, a hefty knife on his belt, and one in each boot. He stepped a little more into the light and they could make out his face. Clark immediately realized this was Jason Todd, Bruce's second son.

"You're early," he grumbled, with a voice that sounded like a smoker's. 

"We're on time," Kyle countered, stepping up, gently tugging Conner's jacket to get him to step back.

Jason critically scanned Kyle over, eyebrow arching as he met the man's eyes.

"He's not here yet. So you're early."

"Oh maybe he's late," Conner said and Kyle visibly winced.

Jason just snorted, looking over. "Kid, you don't know how this works, do ya?"

Clark shot him a glare and Conner wisely kept his mouth shut. Jason just waited, as if he expected one of them to speak again. Then he grunted.

"Come on," he turned, walking away and leaving the doors open behind him.

They all exchanged looks then Kyle led the way inside. Jason hit a light switch and the room flickered to life, revealing a very fancily decorated dining room, white cloth tables and candles and fancy wooden chairs. Jason leaned against the wall and made no move to interact with them. Clark turned to Kyle.

"What is the plan here?" He murmured.

"You brought me for diplomacy, so let me do the talking. Do you have any idea what he wants?"

Clark shook his head and Kyle scowled, then looked at Conner.

"Okay, hothead. You need to keep your mouth shut. You see Todd over there? Be like him. You're our back up, we need diplomacy, and that ain't exact your strong suit."

Conner glared at him, but nodded.

"Clark, if you start feeling like something fishy is going on, kryptonite or just anything else, let me know subtly. If it's Kryptonite I want you two to get the heck out of here."

"Understood." Clark nodded. He was willing to let Kyle take point on this one.

They only stood there for a few minutes, looking around, before an elevator chimed and the doors slid open. Clark had heard it coming up, and had been prepared, turning to face it. The doors slid open and out stepped four people, the two in front were obviously bodyguards, big and beefy, heavily armed. Behind them was a truly tiny man, hell Clark would even guess he was still a teenager. He had shoulder length black hair, alarmingly pale skin, and light blue eyes. He was wearing jeans and a sweater, hands in his pockets.

The last man out of the elevator was unmistakabley Bruce Wayne. He was taller than everyone in the room - except Clark - muscular, and frankly fairly intimidating. He was unfairly handsome too, black hair streaking with gray, blue eyes immediately focused on Clark. He had a bit of scruff, which was different then his usually clean cut appearance Clark saw. He was wearing a simple blue suit with a white button down, no tie, top buttons of his shirt undone. He walked in with the confidence of a man who was invincible, and Clark supposed he practically was.

They met eyes, and this unfairly attractive man smirked at him before sliding his gaze away to Kyle. 

_Clark, you're married, get your thoughts together, boy._

Bruce took his time examining both before turning to Jason, who had walked up to them. They put their heads together and started whispering back and forth. 

"What do you think?"

"The smaller of the Kryptonians is the easiest to goad. He's got a hot head. The Green Lantern is going to try to take point."

"What about Superman?"

They glanced at him. Clark didn't even attempt to look like he wasn't listening to them.

"He's clearly in charge but is stepping back. They both defer to him for final decisions, but he's letting it seem like he's not in control at the moment. He's cocky."

"Hmmn, good, we can't have a fragile opponent, now can we?" 

Bruce and Clark met eyes, and Bruce gave a wolfish smile that sent chills down Clark's spine. He didn't react, just blinked impassively.

"Why'd you bring the kid?"

Clark watched as Bruce's gaze slid off of him and onto his younger companion. He suspected this was Tim Drake.

"Cassandra was unavailable."

Jason scowled at his father but shrugged and turned, walking away and resuming his position against the wall. Bruce turned and sat at a table, resuming eye contact with Clark and then motioning at the chairs across from him. Clark exchanged a look with Kyle then walked over, sitting in the chair diagonal to Bruce while Kyle sat directly across from him. Kon hovered nearby, looking relaxed as he lounged mid-air. The teen came and sat down across from Clark, eyeing him with the cynicism of someone who's been through more than you could ever imagine.

"So, Mr. Kent, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked for a meeting."

_Wait what? How did he know that?_

Clark raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms even as his heart rate shot up. Bruce gave a chilling chuckle.

"What? You think I don't know who you are? The reporter bit is cute, but a horrible disguise. Plus your son isn't that good at hiding as you are."

A spike of fear ran through Clark, quickly followed by hot rage. This must've shown on his face, because Bruce smiled. This could have almost been considered a friendly smile.

"Don't worry. I don't hurt kids. He's innocent . . ." The pause there was fairly threatening, as if to indicate a _for now_ stipulation.

"What do you want, Wayne?" Clark asked finally, tilting his head slightly.

"Straight to business, I see. We're having a small issue that I'm afraid we've found ourselves . . . Under resourced to deal with."

"And why do you think we would help you?" Kyle asked, leaning forwards on his forearms, narrowing his eyes at Bruce.

They met eyes and held each other in a glare for a minute until Bruce cooly slid his eyes away to Clark. Anyone else would take that as a sign of submission. Clark knew it was dismissal. Bruce had just dismissed Kyle as an authority and would now only address Clark. Kyle seemed to realize this too as he scowled and sat back, arms crossed.

"I don't just think you'll help me. I know you will," Bruce said, confidently.

"And why's that."

"Because it's a matter of life and death for a lot of people, not just in Gotham," the younger man spoke finally, voice soft, yet confident. He met eyes with Clark finally, and Clark was more than a little creeped out by the cold, impassive gaze he found.

"We've gotten wind that the League of Assassins, the Court of Owls, and a few other supervillains have formed a shaky alliance with one goal in mind, destabilizing the authorities of some of the biggest cities in the world," Bruce continued.

"For Gotham, that's us. They intend to take us out and let the Court take over," Tim picked up the slack like they had practiced this script on the way here. "For Metropolis, that means taking out you and your family, and finally allowing Lex Luthor to take over the city and do with it as he pleases. There's a couple more cities, including Beijing, Paris, Geneva, Toronto, and I believe Central City."

Clark looked at Kyle, who was scowling even more. If the Wayne's were right, this could be very bad for a lot of people.

"And how'd you get this information?" Kyle asked, looking back at Tim.

"My wife is the daughter of the head of the League of Assassins," came the answer from Bruce.

Well that was quite the Romeo and Juliet love story, wasn't it?

"And how do we know you're not deceiving us?" Kyle was back in diplomat mode.

"You don't. Any information we give you could have easily been faked. But now you will _never_ know. Were we right, and your negligence will cause a lot of people to die, or are we wrong and are using this as a plot to disable the Justice League? That's your decision to make, but will you really be able to sleep peacefully at night when half the world is up on flames and you did _nothing_ to stop it?"

"Why do you care?" Clark asked, genuinely confused.

Bruce seemed taken aback by this question, sitting back in his chair and looking at Clark for a moment.

"Because I have my family to protect," he said, sounding almost confused, as if this should have been obvious. "If the court comes for my family, they'll kill us. They'll kill my children. And if you think I'm going to step back and let that happen then you're an idiot."

Clark narrowed his eyes, and Bruce shot a glare right back, leaning forwards and leering at him over the unlit candles.

"And besides that, I'm not so cruel a man that I would let thousands, even millions or innocent civilians lose their lives over this. My morals may not be as high and lofty as yours, Son of Krypton, but I am not heartless."

There was a tense pause in the conversation, Clark and Bruce just glaring at each other.

"Are you willing to help?" Tim asked finally, breaking the spell over the two men.

"We'll need to talk with the league. But I would assume the answer will be yes," Kyle answered, nodding.

"Great. We'll be in contact with more information."

Tim stood up swiftly and walked right over to Jason, Clark glanced up to see the larger man throw an arm around his smaller companion, the two whispering and looking at Kon. Clark felt another flare of protectiveness, but pulled his eyes away, back to Bruce, who was already looking at him. Bruce just gave that chilling smile and then stood, turning and walking to the elevator. Tim and his bodyguards hurrying to follow him in.

"Alright, Superfolks. Time to go," Jason grumbled, approaching.

This man appeared to have two volumes of communication, grunt and grumble. Clark just stood and turned, walking out, back onto the balcony. The sooner he was out of this damn city and back on the farm with his family, the better.

"Was anyone else super creeped out by them?" Conner asked, rolling onto his back to look up at Clark as they flew back towards the Justice Hall.

"I swear to God it's like they could see into my soul," Kyle muttered, looking down at Conner.

"You two get spooked too easily."

"Oh says you, you practically had a panic attack when he revealed that he knew about your secret identity."

"I didn't panic."

"You were the closest I've seen that didn't involve Lois or Jon being in mortal danger."

Clark just snorted and shook his head.

"Let's get back and debrief the others."

Needless to say, the Justice League was as dumbfounded as they were by this development.

* * *

"Clark, honey? A car just pulled in the driveway."

Clark had heard it. He had already been walking towards the front door from his office before Lois called for him. He had heard it and been so confused because no one they knew from Hamilton county or Metropolis was planning to come out today, and it wasn't farmer Cobb because it wasn't his big, loud, truck. It was a nice, silent car, likely a newer model, and Clark could be wrong, but it _sounded_ like it was an armored car.

He walked to the front door, Jon coming over to stand in the doorway to the front entrance and stare at him. Clark pulled open the door and looked out to see that it was, in fact, a very new car, definitely armored. He didn't recognize the brand, but he could see the thick glass and thick car walls and the fancy tires that made it impossible for them to be popped. And immediately fear ran through him because there was only one person who could find his home address and would drive a car like that.

He knew he was right, the second the door swung and a figure stepped out. 

He almost shut the door and turned around, but it was too late. He would have been seen already. 

"Lois!" He called, turning back into the house, voice pitching with panic. "Get Jon!"

"What's up?" Lois asked, walking over, Jon scurried to press up against Clark's leg and look out the door, even as Lois tried to pull him back.

Together the family watched as a man and a teenager got out of the back seat of the car, looking around the property, before zeroing in on the family in the doorway.

"Oh my god, that's Bruce Wayne," Lois breathed out, squeezing Jon's shoulders and pulling her son back against her.

"Mom!" He whined, squirming.

"Lois. Get out of here. I want you two to run to Cobb's and call Diana and Kyle, okay?"

"Dad! We can stay and help! Just like we did with the Annihilator!"

"No, Jon, not this time," Clark told him, looking down and shaking his head.

"Clark, how'd they even find our house," Lois hissed, shoving Jon's shoes and jacket at him, hurriedly pulling on her own.

"I don't know, Lo," Clark murmured softly, locking eyes with Bruce as he walked up to the porch.

They were running out of time, Lois and Jon were running out of time to get away. 

As if she knew this, Lois grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a hasty kiss before snatching her jacket and purse. 

"Be careful, Smallville," she said, pulling a still resisting Jon towards the backdoor.

"I love you, Lo, Jon," Clark called after them, watching them go.

They disappeared from view and he turned back to face their unexpected guests, listening to Jon and Lois hurriedly grab items from the house before slipping out the backdoor.

"Mr. Kent," Bruce said as he stopped on the front porch.

"Mr. Wayne," Clark greeted back, stepping out and shutting the door behind him, arms crossed.

If this man thought he could come to Clark's home and threaten him, he would learn just how cruel Superman could be.

Bruce, however, just smiled softly, then looked down at his shorter companion.

"My son, Damian," he introduced.

"Hello," Clark said tensely.

"Tt. Alien." The boy returned, glaring heavily.

Clark felt his eyebrows go up. Those were certainly manners of some kind. Definitely not good ones. He pulled his gaze from the child up to Bruce.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, not even trying to be polite.

"We came by to share a little bit of information about the . . . _situation."_

Clark narrowed his eyes as Bruce produced a manila envelope from inside his coat and waved it slightly, holding it just out of Clark's reach.

"You should have set up a meeting," Clark all but growled out, shooting a gaze towards Damian.

He had no doubt one of them, if not both, were carrying Kryptonite. He had no doubt one, if not both, could take him down with it. But that doesn't mean he had to bow down and cower in front of them.

Bruce just smiled. "No, of course. But we were already going to be in the area, so I thought what the heck?"

Clark scowled at him. Bruce just smiled and walked away, sitting on the rocking chair that was on the front porch. Clark and Damian both remained standing. And only now did Bruce hold out the envelope. Clark took it then stepped back, keeping his position in front of the door. Bruce just watched him like he was examining him. Clark stayed silent as he pulled out files from the envelope. Files and pictures detailing the plan of attack against Metropolis. It was a very detailed plan, and if this information was correct, Clark would be able to stop it before it even started.

He looked up at Bruce with a scowl. "Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you giving me this? Why are you helping me?"

Bruce shrugged. "I profit from it."

"How?"

"Lex Luthor stays out of power, more people have the option of buying from me. You cripple Lex's empire, more people _will_ buy from me. Plus, with Metropolis and Gotham so close together, this . . . Alliance will have trouble taking out one city when the other stands strong."

They held eye contact for a moment and Clark felt that stupid chill of fear run down his back. He looked back at the papers.

"How'd you get this information?" He asked, shuffling them to look at the map of the city that was marked with the attack points. He and Conner could definitely handle two of these each

Maybe Jon could take one, and if he could get Kara. . .

"I stole it from my grandfather's office."

Clark almost startled, looking down at the teen who barely reached his chest. Damian glared up at him.

"You're-"

"Ra's Al Ghul's grandson, yes."

Clark felt his eyes go wide as he stared at the boy.

"Holy shit," he breathed out.

Damian gave him a creepy, wolfish smile that nearly mirrored one Bruce had given him, and Clark found himself actually afraid of this small child.

"We're working on getting details about the other attacks as well, but for now this is what we have to offer."

Clark nodded. "And why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't. You have no reason to. But I swear to you that information is legitimate. So don't trust me. Trust that folder."

Bruce stood, and Clark glared a little harder, crossing his arms. 

"Have a good day, Mr. Kent. And do tell Ms. Lane I said hello."

Bruce and Damian turned and walked off the porch and back to their car. Clark watched them for a moment before whirling around. He slammed the front door shut behind him, hastily locking it and then running to find his phone to call Lois. She picked up instantly.

"Clark?"

"Hey, it's okay, they're leaving."

"We know."

Clark heard the back door open and turned to face it, scowling as Lois and Jon walked back in.

"You didn't really think we were going to leave you here all alone, did you?" Lois asked, raising an eyebrow as she hung up the phone.

"You two-" then he sighed walking over and pulling both into a hug. He couldn't be that mad, they were both safe.

* * *

Clark groaned, rolling onto his hands and knees and retching. 

Yup, this sucked.

He should have known the bombs would have been protected by kryptonite. He should have known. God, Kon and Kara must be in bad shape, they got there before he did. And Jon. Oh God, Jon. They had no idea how kryptonite would affect him yet, his powers were still in too much flux for anyone to be certain, but it would likely be bad, it would likely hurt. Clark needed to get to him to help him, but these damned bombs had to be dealt with first. 

He upchucked his sad breakfast and then pushed up to his feet, legs shaking. He felt so weak, he felt like he was going to pass out any second. But he needed to get to the bomb and get out the kryptonite. He needed to get rid of it and then destroy the bomb.

He was about a foot from the bomb when his legs gave out from him and he crumpled in place, his vision swimming and his head pounding as his stomach threatened to revolt against him again. His body was burning like he had a fever, it ached and everything was in spikey pain. 

The man of steel brought down by something as simple as a rock.

It was quite sad, and yet fairly poetic, wasn’t it.

He forced himself onto his knees, crawling towards the bomb, already exposed from his heat vision digging it out of the pillar it had been hidden in. He reached it, gripping it weakly even as a wave of nausea washed over him, feeling for the front access panel and trying to get his fingers under the edge. 

It was screwed down.

Oh he was so fucked.

“Christ, could you be any more pathetic?” 

Clark felt someone grab his cape and yank him back, and despite all his strength, he fell on his ass. He found himself looking at the back of a person’s knees, following the tight black pants up to their backside, then further up to broad shoulders and silver streaked black hair. 

Wait a minute.

“For fucks sake, Clark, you’d think you would have anticipated the whole kryptonite issue. It’s not like Luthor is in any short supply.”

“Bruce?” Clark coughed out, turning and retching again.

“Astute observation.”

Bruce Wayne was doing something to the bomb. Clark felt concern running through him. 

Then he heard the snap of a box, and suddenly the heavy oppressive feeling of kryptonite disappeared. He could breathe normally without feeling like there was a building on his chest. He didn’t feel sick, his body was cooling down.

Bruce had removed the kryptonite. 

Clark sat up and stared at him, scowling. 

“Why are you here?”

Bruce turned to him, a pair of wire cutters in his hand. “I thought that was fairly obvious. Now shush.”

Clark waited until the ticking of the bomb had stopped. 

“Mr. Wayne. Why are you _here_ ? Why are you in _Metropolis?_ ”

Bruce sighed, turning to him and pocketing his tools. He was wearing very tight clothes and combat boots, as well as gloves, like he was attempting to be a vigilante or a spy, or something of the sorts.

“I had this sinking feeling you wouldn’t be able to disable the bombs without help. That and my boys were concerned.”

“Your boys. Sure.”

Bruce fixed him with a leer.

“Don’t you have another bomb to deal with, Superman?”

“Oh, shit. Right. . . Wait. Boys. The boys! Oh christ!”

“They’re fine. I have people seeing to them. Now fly me to the next bomb.”

Bruce held out his arm expectantly. Clark hesitated, turning and listening in on the boys. Sure enough, he could hear Jon breathlessly talking to an older man, who seemed amused but also annoyed. Kon was bickering lightly with someone. Kara was talking to another girl. He would need to go collect Jon as soon as possible, but for now he didn’t seem to be in danger, so Clark grabbed Bruce Wayne’s arm with one hand and the bomb with the other and flew him to the other side of downtown. He set down a little ways back, and Bruce hurriedly walked over, getting to work. Clark watched from a distance, keeping an ear on Jon.

With practiced precision, Bruce dismantled the bomb. Clark quickly took both up into the high atmosphere and destroyed them, then came back to find Bruce gone. He just sighed and flew to find Jon, who had moved, heading towards Kon’s location. The moment he found the child, protective instincts flared up, because he found him in the company of Jason Todd and Damian Wayne.

“Superboy,” Clark all but snapped once he was in earshot. 

Jon’s head whipped over and his eyes went wide. “Dad!”

Clark grunted as the boy slammed into his stomach, wrapping his arms around him and hugging tightly.

“Are you okay, kiddo?” Clark asked softly, bending a bit as he hugged him, glaring at Jason and Damian.

“I’m okay dad. I felt really sick there for a bit. Mr. Jason explained that it was because of the kryptonite.”

“Did they-” Clark hesitated, pulling away and crouching in front of Jon. “Did they say or do anything to you?”

Jon shook his head. “But they took the kryptonite and put it in this box.”

Clark scowled and nodded. That’s what he figured. He kept a hand on Jon’s shoulder as he straightened and looked up at the two Wayne’s.

“Thank you for helping Superboy,” he said, nodding to them. 

Jason just nodded in return, while Damian scoffed, despite the fact that he was staring at Jon, head tilted to the side slightly, eyes calculating. Clark suspected he’d have to keep an eye on that.

“Superman!”

Clark looked up as he heard Kon yelling for him, noting him and Kara hovering over, both looking surprisingly healthy, but confused. Clark lifted a hand in greeting. Kon landed beside him, eyeing Jason suspiciously.

“Why are they here?”

“Mr. Wayne claims it’s just to help.”

Kon scoffed. “Yeah right. He probably sensed some profit in this for him.”

Clark shrugged, but felt himself relaxing a bit now that he saw that Conner and Kara were both safe. He turned back to Jason.

“I appreciate the assistance, Mr. Todd.” He walked over, holding out a hand.

Jason eyed it for a second, then took his hand and shook it. “Don’t get used to it, Kent. Come on, Kid.”

“Tt, don’t order me around, I’m not a child, Todd.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll consider that when you’re over five foot six.”

Clark watched Damian swing at Jason with what would have been a considerable blow, but Jason just leaned out of the way and grabbed his hand, blocking it. They glared at each other for a moment, then Damian hissed something Clark couldn’t understand, causing Jason to let go.

“Have a lovely day, Mr. Kent. I’m sure we’ll be in touch,” Jason told him, then turned and walked away, Damian on his heels. 

The Kents watched as Damian and Jason got into the backseat of a car and then disappeared into the distance.

“They’re fucking creepy, I’m telling you, I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them,” Conner grumbled, shuddering.

“Conner. Language,” Clark corrected, nodding towards Jon.

“I like them,” Jon said, decisively.

Oh boy. Clark was definitely going to have problems with that.

* * *

Jason watched Bruce stare out the window as Metropolis faded from busy city into calm suburbs. He watched the man and knew gears were turning in his head, calculations being made, decisions that could either benefit the family or greatly destroy them. Next to him, Tim seemed lost in thought, staring at the floor, Damian was too busy reading to care about anyone, and Kate had passed out about three minutes ago.

Jason just had one question for his adoptive father.

“Why?”

Bruce startled slightly, looking up, seeming surprised by Jason’s sudden talking. Then he tilted his head.

“Why what? Jay-lad?”

“Why did we help them?”

It made no sense. Not even with Bruce’s explanation of stopping the Alliance, of protecting Gotham. Why would they, personally, the Wayne’s, go out of their way to help the Kryptonians? Why not send some goons?

Bruce was silent, elbow on the door of the car, chin on his hand, blue eyes staring impassively at his son.

“Why shouldn’t we?” he asked finally, and Jason recognized his attempt to get Jason talking, to be able to respond properly to get the calmest reaction.

“Because we owe them _nothing_ ,” Jason started. He usually hated being baited into these arguments, but here he was. “They are good guys, Bruce, we very much, are not. We lie and steal and sell drugs, and they are all about truth, justice and the American Way. We can save Gotham without them, Bruce. You’ve been doing it for fifteen years.”

Bruce nodded, considering this. Jason had drawn Tim’s attention now too, and he could tell Damian was pretending not to care, but was listening.

“Because we can use them, Jason. If we can get them to trust us, even slightly, to believe that we’re doing good and helping them defeat the Alliance, they’ll let their guard down around us, and we can play them like fiddles. On top of that, assisting them today meant adding to our kryptonite collection and taking more from Lex Luthor. I also got a good look at the design of bombs they were using and I can use that to trace them back to their manufacturer, who I already have a few ideas on who that is. I weighed the pros and cons carefully and ended up coming out with more pros.”

“So you want them to try to get close to us?”

“Yes. I want them to think they can, only to find out how truly wrong they were when we decide to walk away or take advantage of them. It’s a matter of getting ahead, Jason. Take what we can, cut ties where necessary.”

Jason scowled at him. Bruce seemed so sure of himself, but Jason could only see this backfiring on them. He knew Bruce, apparently better than Bruce knew himself. This wouldn’t end well, and he knew it. But . . . he’d follow Bruce to the ends of the earth. He’ll be there when this crashes and burns. 

Because it will.

Because befriending heroes never goes well for anyone. Especially not those in the Mafia.

Jason would know.

**Author's Note:**

> There might be more to come :)
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Kudos and Comments are absolutely wonderful gremlin food for this chaotic gremlin bean.
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @Queerbutstillhere for my chaotic reblog/personal account, or @queerbutstillhere-writes for my writing drabbles, as well as story updates!
> 
> And go check out @binarystarkillers on both tumblr and Ao3!!!!


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